The Most Amazing Vacation (part two)

On Monday morning we swung by Starbucks on our way out of Flagstaff (notice the recurring theme of Good Coffee) and then headed north. This was the longest day of driving and we stopped numerous times along the way. Several of the stops occurred when someone noticed something interesting on the side of the road. These lambs caught my eye amongst other graffiti when I realized that they had not been painted but rather were picked out of existing paint layers.

When the Vermillion Cliffs became clearly visible we had to stop to take photos. The road ahead would take us over a bridge and then back underneath these same cliffs.

Then we had to stop again at the bridge over Marble Canyon, where you can walk out over the water and look down at the kayakers far below. Really really far below…

Under the feet of the Vermillion Cliffs are several areas with standing stones. I am standing underneath one of these stones in the first photograph, which made me feel more than a little bit vulnerable and may give you a better idea of the scale of these beauties.

While we were stopped at the Standing Stones this line of trees out in the desert caught my eye. What a beautifully desolate place to live…

Zion National Park is breathtaking. Of all the stops we made, and all the incredible scenery we saw, this is the one I feel that I need to go back to. It seems like we barely skimmed the surface of the park and that there is too much that we didn’t get to see.

After dinner (meaning at about 9pm!) we all trouped into Regina Pagles’ tiny studio to watch her take Don’s photograph. Regina is very specific in what she wants in a photograph and in how she goes about getting it. It was a treat to watch her work. I have no photos from the event but you can see her work at http://www.reginapaglesphotography.com.

And that was the end of the first full day on the road trip – exhausting, exhilarating, and far more satisfying than I dared to hope.